2. KEPHIS presentation _ Suresh, L.M. CIMMYT original.pptx

KEPHIS

1. Tackling Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN) in eastern Africa through multipronged approaches Suresh, L. M, Yoseph Beyene, Dan Makumbi, Manje Gowda, and B.M. Prasanna. National Conference Plant Health for Food Security: Threats and Promises February 1-3, 2024 Venue : ICAR-Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research (IISR), Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

2. MLN Phenotyping Support for Public and Private Sector Partners Private Partners: 17 NARES: 10 NPPO’s: 1 CGIAR: CIMMYT, IITA Total Rows: 364,739 230,000 germplasm entries (> 364,739 rows) screened against MLN & MCMV under artificial inoculation at the Naivasha facility since 2014. Heritability : 0.85 to 0.99 [ CIMMYT : 65%; NARES : 15%; SME’s : 20%] Impact: so far, 22 MLN resistant/tolerant hybrids released in eastern Africa. From less than 5 inbred lines with tolerance/resistance to MLN in 2013, today we have more than 50 elite and diverse CIMMYT lines with MLN resistance. Other NARES: TARI, RAB, ZARI, DRSS, DARS, IIAM, SSARO (South Sudan) Other SMEs: Zamseed , Aminata, Gicheha Farms, Victoria Seeds, Rasi Seeds. NARES Private Partners

3. Genome Editing for Resistance to MLN Success Story Fine-mapping, cloning and editing the causal genomic region(s) for MLN resistance. Establishing a pipeline to edit for MLN resistance in MLN-susceptible lines that are parents of CIMMYT-derived commercial maize hybrids in Africa. Fine-mapping of chr.6 QTL in several mapping populations during 2018-2020

4. Safe germplasm exchange and distribution Periodical surveillance in the breeding site at Kiboko from CIMMYT and KEPHIS team. Testing every single seed entry at CIMMYT lab, Nairobi. Testing the seeds at KEPHIS lab and getting a Phyto certificate. After seed arrival, test the seeds again at Harare, Zimbabwe. Growing these germplasm in quarantine facility Mazowe and testing the seeds and finally distributing to all non-endemic countries. Safe germplasm exchange and distribution from Kenya to other countries in ESA with following stringent practices Scouting, Kiboko Testing, Nairobi Quarantine facility – Mazowe, Zimbabwe

5. MLN Surveillance Overview MLN surveillance is done using immunostrips. Commercial farms Seed-growing farms Dealer seeds

6. Capacity Building since 2016 Training conducted to various partners in SSA on MLN disease diagnosis and surveillance MLN disease diagnosis and management MLN Disease-free seed production steps

7. Transboundary quarantine mechanism – status (2023) During the survey, there are 32 borders, 5 ports, 6 airports, 5 testing centers, 27 checkpoints, and 2 quarantine facilities identified in Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Very few quarantine facilities (2) to tackle the maize seed movement. Porous borders, checkpoints, ports, and airports to handle the large volume of seeds and grain movement. Less or no infrastructures (including digital) in most of the countries in ESA to handle the large volume of seeds in ports, borders, and checkpoints. The present transboundary mechanism is very weak and hence there is a high probability of any emergence of transboundary pests and diseases through seeds/grain in ESA.

8. Models for predicting P&D risks and shifts due to climate change and other factors Study of various predisposing factors for MLN spread including weather, seed movement, quarantine system arrangement, host prevalence or cropping period in selected countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. Highly porous borders, lack of quarantine and testing facilities, inadequate diagnostic centers and insufficient trained personnel, limited laboratory facilities to handle bulk volumes of seeds and grains observed in general Host prevalence and cropping period for MLN spread Survey, and data on seed movement   into and out of target country for the last 3-4 years  for understanding on safe exchange of seeds and grains being finalized Target Countries and Partners: Kenya (KEPHIS), Uganda (NARO), Tanzania ( PQPS), Zambia ( PQPS), Zimbabwe (PQSI) Status of Transboundary quarantine mechanism in ESA MLN sites with Climate similarity in Sub Saharan Africa Weak Strong Moderate